Railway rail



' Sept. 9, 1924.

w. P. THOMSON RAILWAY RAIL Filed Feb. 16. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet l il'lz3am/Patommmsorg z I I @813 I,

I I V Patented Sept. 9, 1924.

UNITED STATES 1,507,870 PATENT OFFICE.

wrm mmrnron rnomson, on NEW YORK, n. Y.

RAILWAY RAIL.

Application filed February 16, 1923. Serial No. 619,467.

To all whom it may concern: 0

Be it known that I, WILLIAM PATON THOMSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway Rails, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a new rail construction having for its object refinements in rail fabrication which possess certain desirable manufacturing and commercial ad vantages; also providing a structure possessing special utility when associated with rail splicing means of the character set forth in my former Patent No. 1,374,782 dated April 12, 1921.

Accordingly, a principal object of the in vention is to so improve the disposition of metal in the head of a rail that its use with splicing means of the nature described in my aforementioned patent Will cause the load and bolt-clamping stresses to focus more directly upon the central, or longitudinal core, portion of the rail head than is possible with the rails and splice bars as commonly used at the present time, thus relieving said core of the more or less disruptive stresses, common to present practices, by placing said core definitely under compression by focusing the stresses as above described. comprising as it does the keystone of the medial, or B, zone and underlying the wheel-tread zone of the rail head, affords a firmer support under the middle of the wheel-tread zone than canbe the case with the less definitely 'compressed core of an ordinary rail head which is so disadvanta eously supported under its sides upon spice bars as now commonly used. The compressing of this longitudinal core also operates, it may be noted, to increase the resistance of the top chord of the rail when it is in tension. It should be noted "also that my invention accomplishes an im proved relation not only between the load and bolt-clamping stresses but also between the load and road-bed sustaining stresses because my improved rail and splicing means compel these stresses to act and react in a diagonal direction directly through said core of the rail head even under the most unfavorable conditions due to track curvature or upright, as contrasted to canted, position of the rail on the ties. It will This compressed core,

be observed, in this connection, that this new relation of said core of the rail head provement in fabricating and cooling conditions, as hereinafter explained, serves, to decrease the liability to production of a core, which is defective. Thus, it will be seen, the manufacturing and structural advantages of my invention bear a very intimate relation to each other.

Consequently, an important object of the invention is to so improve the distribution of metal in a rail head as to enable the modern speeded-up process of fabrication of a rail to proceed along such lines of mechanical kneading of the metal in thehead as Will accomplish a homogeneity of the texture of the steel, which Wlll be more nearly like that obtained when the number of roll passes was much greater even on lighter sections of rail, thus minimizing the prevailing tendency to segregation and reducing the liability to development of transverse and longitudinal fissures in therail head.

Furthermore, it is contemplated that the novel disposition of metal prescribed by this invention will operate to render cooling more uniform throughout the rail head and,

,of the head to lose its heat more rapidly,

than in the present common practice. This relatively slower cooling of the top of the rail head, combined with the improved ma-' nipulation of the steel during fabrication, will induce a finer and more uniform texture of steel in. this zone. of the rail head] of inertia by" permitting part of the removed metal to be placed .at more advantageous locations elsewhere in the rail.

With these and other objects in view which will .more readily appear as the na ture of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

While necessarily susceptible of structural change without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, certain practical embodiments are shown in the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a bisected sectional view of a rail having. the new head structure according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary diagrammatic viewof the new rail head structure showing the head of a joint .bar in operative relation thereto, the dotted and full lines making v diagrams to indicate the. new metal distribution.

Figure 3 is a sectional view of a modification illustrating the improvement made applicable to a widened wheel-tread surface on the head of the rail, as compared with a normal rail.

Figure 4 is aview similar to Figure 1 showing the new rail employed with an angle bar type-of splice bar.

Figure 5 is a detail elevation of the complete rail joint embodying the present invention with bolts omitted.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional View thereof.

Four factors are important considerations in the fabrication of a rail having a head construction made in accordance with the present invention.

One of these factors is to have the design of the rail head of such form and character that in the process of fabrication of the rail the metal can be manipulated to better advantage so that there will be obtained in the head structure of the rail 9. more nearly perfect homogeneity of the texture of the steel, thus reducing liability to the formation of fissures in the rail head, as frequently occur in rail heads of the usual designs of T-rails, particularly in heavy sec tions. I

A secondfactor is that of so distributing the metal in the head of the rail as better to retard cooling from the top downward, thereby retaining a preponderance of heat adjacent the wheel-tread area of the rail head. This relatively slow coolin of the top of the rail head will induce a ner texture of steel in that zone, which is subject to intense crushing and abrasive action. Such a desirable result is dificult of attainment in the upper portion of the rail head of the prevalent present standard of T-rai design. a y

A third factor is the one of providing s licing structure covered by my a new rail design whichinvolves a novel distribution of metal which may be utilized either to actuall reduce the weight of the rail or permit t e equivalent of the metal removed to be placed at more advantageous locations elsewhere in the rail.

The fourth factor is that of providing a new rail design which lends itself readily to a successful carrying forwardof the novel former atent No. 1,374,782, dated April 12, 1921.

Referring particularly to Figure 2 of the drawings, the metal distribution and structural characteristics of the rail head may be readily observed by reference to the several zones of metal represented by the reference letters A, B and C respectively; the reference A designating the upper zone of metal at and adjacent the wheel-tread area; the reference letter B representing a zone of metal, having a core L, interposed between the wheel-tread area and the web of the rail, which zone of metal has the approximate conformation of an inverted pyramid trumcated at its juncture D with the web and bulging at its sides as at E to form fulcrum ing seats as at F for the inner head projections as at G of splice bars such as H.

By reason of this particular construction, it will be observed that the areas of metal represented in the zones 0-0 of Figure 2 areientirely eliminated or deleted and it is at those areas of metal in a standard T- rail structure Where flat undersides of the rail head are formed toprovide fishing surfaces for the heads of the splice bars. Therefore, the new rail head construction of the present invention provides a wheel-tread area which affords a top chord of adequate load resistance and which is deep enough to provide correct wheel-flange resistance when the rail is new; but this top chord, or wheel-tread zone, is joined to the web by a medial zone of such novel conformation that, in addition to other advantages dealt with elsewhere herein, it has adequate resistance for progressive wheel-tread and wheel-flange wear, and at the same time, the metal may be so advantageously disposed as to reduce the amount of metal in this medial zone of the rail head. This object is advantageously accomplished because, just as the resultant direction of wheel tread and wheel-fiange wear is downward and outward away from the gauge side of the rail head, so the conformation of this medial, or B, zone may be made such that only enough metal to adequately resist wheel-flange thrust needs to be disposed where it will be required as wheel tread wear progresses; it is obvious that this may be done with scientific precision in view 'of the fact that fishing surfaces for the heads of splice bars do not have to be provided in such wasteful fashion as is represented by zones 0-4) in Fig. It is of course, intended that the straight lines MM shall be regarded as typical of inner boundaries of any shape to the zones 'C-C, which zones may thus be made to vary materially in extent.

In this connection it will be observed that these fulcruming bearings for the upper inner corners of the splice bars may be so located and disposed as to permit the splice bars to have an upwardly and outwardly sliding bearing contact with the rail above the center line ofthe bolt holes until a perfectly stable fit at the juncture between the web and head of the rail is secured, thus incorporating the desirable features of my splice bar covered by my Patent No. 1,374,782 dated April 12, 1921.

Figure 3 of the drawings illustrates a modification of theinvention which involves a novel distribution of metal which permits of providinga widened wheel tread surface as compared with a normal rail while at the same time using less 'material. The dotted line in in this figure indicates such a desirable conformation of the metal of the head as may be obtained in the intermediate stages of the rolling process when producing the form shown in full lines, having the relativellgy fiat and widened head A, the wings of which project laterally over and above the positions of the heads of the splicing structure. An underside B of the head %"oins with a head fillet, or fulcruming seat, at the point B so that when a bar I of the splicin structure is fitted to the rail the inner hea projection of the splice bar will fit into the seat F' while the under-face B ofgthe rail head will be entirely free and clear of the splicing structure thereby roviding the rail with a head having nonshing undersides outside of the head fillets. This typeof head would be particularly desirable if the rail were canted so that the direction of the redominant load stress would be substantially that of the upright center line ofthe rail.

From the foregoing it will be apparent 4 that one of the novel and distinctive features of the resent invention resides in providing a rail iiaving ahead, portions of which are formed with non-fishing undeisides which are thus rendered structurally independent of co-operative contact with the splice bars outside of the outer termini of the head fillets of the rail. Obviously this desirable end may be obtained in various ways, two of of splice bars that the clamping force exerted b the bolts will be directed diagonally throng the heads of the splice. bars toward the center, or core, of the rail head and thus, as the load force im osed upon the wheeltread zone of the rai head must react uponthe splice bars in similar diagonal directions, the central portion or core of the rail head will, under load conditions, be more definitely under compression than can be the case with a normal rail and normal angle zone having an inverted pyramidalconformation which has a truncated juncture with said web.

2. A rail having a shallow wheel-tread and wheel-flange resistant body, a rail web, and a protuberant zone; providing a fulcruming anchorage for splice bars in the juncture between said body and said web.

3. A' rail having a comparativel shallow and substantially oblong wheel resisting head, anormal rail web, and a zone interposed between said head and web, said zone aving the approximate conformation of an inverted pyramid, truncated at its juncture with said web and bulging at its sides to form an anchorage for splice bars in the resulting recess adjoining said web.

4. A rail construction having a united head and web and splice bar anchorages so located adjacent to the juncture of said head and web, that all load stresses transmitted by the heads of coacting splice barsfrom one rail head to the other rail head must pass through said anchorages and focus in the central zone of each rail head substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. A rail having a, substantially oblong wheel-resisting head member, a web, and a zone interposed between said wheel-resisting head member and said web, said zone tapering symmetrically downward to its juncture with said web and producing splice bar-anchora es adjacent to said juncture.

6. rail having a substantially oblong wheel-resisting head member, a web, and a zone interposed between said wheel-resisting head member and said web, said zone decreasing symmetrically in width to its juncture with said web, the lower extent of said decrease being abrupt to produce concaved anchorages for splice bars.

7. A rail having a substantially oblong wheel-resisting head member, a web, and a" symmetrical zone interposed between Said wheel-resisting head member and said web, said zone decreasingin width downwardly and having a protuberant medial portion.

8. A rail having a substantially oblong wheel-resisting head member, a web, and a symmetrical zone interposed between said wheel-resisting head member and said web, said zone decreasing in width downwardly and having a protuberant medial portion which provides splice bar anchorages underlying said protuberant portion. 7

9. A rail having a substantially oblong wheel-resisting headmember, a web, and a symmetrical zone interposed between said wheel-resisting head member and said web, said zone decreasing in width downwardly and having a protuberant medial portion which provides concaved splice bar anchorages underlying said protuberant portion.

10. A rail having a splice bar anchorage at the juncture of the rail web with the rail head and a free under surface of said rail head which extends outwardly to a less extent than the head of the underlying splice bar.

11. A rail having a curving splice bar anchorage joining the surface of the upper portion of the rail web to a free surface of the under side of the head of the rail, said free surface extending outwardly to a less extent than the head of the splice bar.

12. A rail having a head formed with a wide wheel tread and the outer portion of its under face overlying and free of contact with the medial portion of the head member of a splice bar, and with the inner portion of-its under face constituting an upwardly and outwardly extending anchorage for the head of said splice bar.

13. A rail having a splice bar anchorage at the juncture of the upper portion of its web 'with the under surface of the head of the rail, the outer portion of the under surface of the rail head being so formed as to be free of contact with the directly underlying portion of the head of said splice bar.

14. A rail having a curved anchorage for a splice bar at the juncture of the upper portion of its web with a free under surface of the rail head, said free under surface of the rail head diverging from a comparatively broader free upper surface of the head of said splice bar.

15. A rail having a fishing surface joining the surface of the upper portion of the rail web to a free surface of the under side of the head of'the rail, said free under surface extending outwardly to a less extent than a free upper surface of the head of an underlying splice bar.

16. A rail having an anchorage for a splice bar at the juncture of the rail web with the rail head and, extending outwardly from said anchorage, having an under surface of said rail head so formed as to be free of contact with the wide head of an underlying splice bar but which extends outwardly to a less extent than the head of said splice bar. a V,

17. A rail structure including a rail and coacting splice bars which have head members, each of which is of greater width than the overlying portion of the rail head and each of which has the medial portion of its upper surface underlying the rail head and. free of contact with same, said rail having, adjacent to the juncture of its head with its web, concaved and symmetrically disposed anchorages for the heads of said splice bars.

18. A rail having a substantially oblong wheel-head and wheel-flange resistant body, aweb, and a symmetrically formed intervening zone which has a protuberance in the mid-section of each of its undersides to af ford anchorage sockets for splicing means.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses I WILLI PATON THOMSON. Witnesses E. K. Knnsnmm, B. G. 

